Realities of corporate financing in any presidential election

Updated Mar. 9, 2008     Obama Reference Set

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The realities of corporate financing in any presidential election: (updated August, 2008)

The Bigger Donors - NYT. "Behind those larger donations is a phalanx of more than 500 Obama 'bundlers,' fund-raisers who have each collected contributions totaling $50,000 or more. Many of the bundlers come from industries with critical interests in Washington. Nearly three dozen of the bundlers have raised more than $500,000 each, including more than a half-dozen who have passed the $1 million mark and one or two who have exceeded $2 million, according to interviews with fund-raisers."  Aug. 5, 2008

Obama gives Hope to corporations - Truthdig, Apr 28, 2008

Barack Obama Inc.:  The birth of a Washington machine - (Harpers, Oct 26, 2006 issue)

Obama Campaign press release - response to Harper's article - Oct. 23, 2006

A Bit More on Barack - Harper's added detail for Obama campaign - Oct. 26, 2006.  This includes Obama's explanation that "We can do better than burdening businesses with cases of class-action abuse."

Obama and Exelon bill - New York Times, Feb 3, 2008 - a bill which Obama-donor Exelon and Republicans weakened to allow NO regulatory oversight by state or local authorities -- that oversight having been the purpose of the bill.

Strangely, on the campaign trail Obama told an Iowa audience in December '07 that it was "the only nuclear legislation that I’ve passed ... I just did that last year."   The problem?  The bill never passed.  The defanged version was reintroduced in October '07.

Obama, Exelon and their consultant David Axelrod - an intro and report with links to full articles.

Lobbyist support to campaign     Various sources detailed - 4/29/08

Corporate contributions to campaign sorted by:

      Sector, Top Industries, Top Contributors (company bundling).



Articles (biographical, topical, etc.)

• The Path to Power - Men's Vogue.  An attractive and interesting mind.
• Iraq: What Hillary and Barack actually said at the time. Mar 10
• New Yorker: How Chicago Shaped Obama - July 21, 2008.  This interesting, balanced story was lost behind the infamous cover cartoon.
• Obama and Mayor Daley
• How Obama rose in Illinois politics - an illuminating description but with too much emphasis on the envious author's own story (his own not so interesting). Feb 28
• How Obama eliminated rivals from ballots, using 'old politics' of Chicago.  Sometimes referred to as the Alice Palmer story.
      A conservative blog's spin on the story;  Washington Post's
      more friendly view
• A worrisome voting record, Feb 28.
• David Shuster reacts (video) to Obama's pressing the wrong vote buttons on 6 occasions. Mar 3.
• Obama's lukewarm support of the gay community - Feb 29
• Source of photo from Kenya - who uploaded it, where, on Feb. 23.?
• In-depth and very controversial article by Sean Wilentz, for The New Republic, with his analysis of the use of racial dynamics in the primaries. Feb 27.
• CAFA - Class Action Fairness Act.  Obama voted for this anti-consumer bill.  Clinton, Kennedy, Biden, Feingold, and Kerry voted no.
• Obama also voted against capping consumer credit card interest at 30%.  Clinton voted for the cap.  The credit card companies deem him "reasonable."  See Obama's stated plans at his website..
  
• The Rezko relationship.  Obama not accused of illegal actions, only bad judgment.  Rezko trial begins March 3, 2008 - Prosecutor: Patrick Fitzgerald
  • Implications for Obama - Detailed, thoughtful story by Jeralyn Merritt, Feb 26
    Chicago Tribune re Obama's differing versions of Rezko/home purchase circumstances.  Not forthright here.  Feb 19, 2008
  • Rezko ties - Chicago Sun-Times, by Tim Novak, Apr 23, 2007; much shorter intro, Jan 2008;  harrassing Obama;  Letters for Rezko
  • Rezko and Obama purchase - Kankakee Daily Journal,, Feb 19, 2008
  • NY Times: Lingering questions - March 3, 2008.
  • The Guardian (UK) story on likely Republican scrutiny of the Rezko relationship.
• Washington Post: The press awakens, with many questions. Mar 3.
• How Obama handles tough questioning - Mar 3.
• Inactive Chairman - Joe Conason's article for Salon about Obama's disinterested chairing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs.
• NAFTA - Did Obama tell Canada not to worry about 'only...campaign rhetoric' in his NAFTA statements?  CTV reconfirms story,  names appearing: (1), (2).   NY Times: The Canadian Consulate's 1,300 word memo re conversations between counsel general Georges Rioux and Obama's senior economic policy adviser, Austan Goolsbee, obtained by AP.  "[Goolsbee] was frank in saying that the primary campaign has been necessarily domestically focused, particularly in the Midwest, and that much of the rhetoric that may be perceived to be protectionist is more reflective of political maneuvering than policy..."
    Mar 3.
  Mar. 7 - Upshot - Prime Minister Harper's Office said Clinton never gave Canada secret assurances, only Obama's campaign talked with them.
  The Associated Press's excerpts from the memo
  Per The Nation, "...The operative said it was just campaign rhetoric not to be taken seriously."
• Preparing for the Republican swiftboating - Larry C. Johnson,
        The Huffington Post. - Feb 16, 2008.  Guilt by association (Ayers, Khalidi) is too McCarthyesque for me and a stretch in those cases.  But it's clear from blogs that this will be brought up in the General Election.